Home Away From Home | #4

I live in Hollywood, which is mostly how you imagine it, if not a bit less glamorous. I’m from a small suburban town in the midwest, so aside from being in technically the same country, Hollywood is about as different as it can get. There’s no greenery or parking, it’s shoulder to shoulder crowded at all times with tourists, and it’s constantly loud and bright. I love cities, but whenever I can, I get out of Hollywood and explore the rest of Los Angeles, because the other areas are more familiar and a lot easier to enjoy yourself in. Hollywood is not nearly as glitzy or exciting as people think, because if you aren’t in the middle of it, you only see what it looks like during movie premieres or the Oscars. The rest of the year, especially the summer, it’s flooded with people trying to get a glimpse of that television version of the town. Take all of that away and it would just be a few city blocks with some notable landmarks. It’s nothing to have such illusions over like London and Paris are, in my opinion. It’s a lovely city but it’s just a city. In my opinion, there’s much more to see, do, and eat in Venice and Westwood and the Valley than in Central Hollywood. Los Angeles as a whole is pretty spectacular, I just don’t understand the hype over this one section of it.